Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-02-25
BUILDING G
A Powerful Parallel Drawn Between the
Awful Mill River Flood and the Flood o1

u
Intcmpcrance.
A little more than twelve years ago, in
the western part of Massachusetts, there
occurred, as many will remember, the sad
and terrible Mill River flood. A peaceful
little stream, known as Mill River, had
found its source among the hills, and had
wound in and out through n lovely valley,
doing no harm and not very much good,
until shrewd business men had said to
themselves that that stream, small as IL
seemed, contained n force. which, if pent-
up and controlled in the proper manner,
could be used to good advantage. and
assist them in becoming rich.
And so a massive dam, forty feet high,
was built ncross the upper end of the val
lev, from side to side, thus throwing the
water back into what seemed like a huge
basin, from which it could be drawn at the
will of the ~mill-owners. AS business in
creased, the town along the banks of the
stream grew and throve. From morning
until evening the busy whirl of machinery
in motion might have been heard, and no
one appeared to think of danger, unless,
who shook their heads and built their
homes upon the side Of the hills, ito be
out of danger" they said. Others only
laughed at them and said, there surely
was no DANGER" and built their houses by
the side of the river and near the mills, for
the sake of convenience.
But one morning in May, 1874, the gate-
keeper of the dam, while sitting at break
fast, heard o loud rumbling and cracking;
his father, standing near the window, eX-
claimed: George! George! the dam is
giving away" It was but the work of an
instant for George to rush to the dam, and,
at the peril of his own life. open the gate
which let off the surplus water from the
reservoir, and then, saying to himself that
the people of W. must know that the
flood was coming, he threw himself upon
his horse and rode for dear life toward the
town. And then through the quiet village
rang that awful warning cry: "The flood is
coming: fee to the hills for your lives"
A milkman, hearing the words, said: "1f
the food is coming, the people in s.
must know it," and in a moment he was
driving at full speed for the next town.
Another, hearing the cry. carried the warn
ing to the village OF H, and from there
it was carried in like manner to the towns
beyond. Hardly had the gate-keeper's
voice died away, when the people living
upon the side Of the hills, and those who,
hearing the warning, had fled to the same
place of safety, saw q monster wave twenty
feet in height came rolling with terrible
rapidity downt the valley, completely sweep
ing away everything which lay in its course.
Massive rocks and trees were torn up and
whirled around like mere feathers. Mills
and houses were crushed into a thousand
fragments and then buried deep UNDER
meath ground. Through village after vii
lage the flood swept on with undated
force, and finally rolled on into the Con-
n~ecticut River; and people living along the
shores wondered at the noticeable rise in
the river until the next day when there
came with the sad news an explanation of
the mystery. But what a terrible spectacle!
Where o few short hours before there had
been happy homes, now all was desolation.
Words would fail to describe the heart
rending scenes; neither would we wish to
dwell on them if we could. The utter dark
ness of that day was only lighted by the
heroism of a devoted son or daughter in
trying to rescue an aged parent, or an inva-
lid VINO insisted upon being left to his fate,
in order that the strong might escape. Can
we imagine for an instant that any one
hearing the warning cry and knowing that
those within his own home knew nothing
of it, could save himself without first re-
peating the message to his friends? The
voice of the rider. as he sped along, could
be heard only by the few, who must, in
turn, repeat the warning to those beyond
the sound.
But what lesson con we draw from this
narration?
First, that we are living in an age when
the terrible dangers of intemperance, i'm
morality and u%ngodliness are walled up
around us, ready at any moment to break
loose and engulf us, with a force we are
unable to resist.
Second, that We should take the advice
of those older and wiser than ourselves,
and build high" How necessary it is in
this day, when intemperance stares us in
face, that our young people build high,
safe beyond the reach of the terrible wave,
which so remorselessly sweeps away the
happy homes and bright youth of our land.
How many a man with lettering steps tries
to flee to the hills when it is too late. The
loco is upon him, and he cannot resist its
force.
Third, we cannot all be great agitators.
There are some few who, by Divine Provi-
dence, are appointed to sound the warning
note, and then it is our blessed privilege to
carry that message to our friends. DO We
do it? Can we not think of some friend
who, though associating with us every day,
we have never spoken to in regard TO the
safety of his dwelling? We perhaps fee
secure, having heard the warning in season
to escape, but have we warned others?
Oh, that We could throw off more of ou1
seltishness, and try to save those who are
in danger! Is there not some young per-
son exposed to the evil of intemperance to
whom as yet no word has been spoken:
Standing upon the hillside, we see the
flood coming. Will We rest content with
our own safety, or will We try to save those
who are in peril. even at the risk of on,
WI lives? Let us sound the warning be.
fore it is too late. Let us reach the young
people of the present; urge upon them the
necessity of building high" and the men
and women Of the future will not be
touched by the wave of intemperance.
God grant that we may take heed to thu
voice of the rider, and flee to the hills 70,
our lives.-W. l.. c., IN Golden Rule.
The InsOlence OF the Saloon.
Constant familiarity with an evil blunts
our perceptions aud blinds our eyes. until
we cease to perceive its enormity. This
frifa fruth ia ~eXempljEn6 copct,,tJ, =, h.,